NASA News
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
John F. Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899
____________________________________________________________________________
KSC contact: George Diller
For Release
July 6, 2000
KSC Release No. 55 - 00
SPACE STATION LABORATORY EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS IN VACUUM CHAMBER TEST
The U.S. Laboratory, Destiny, has more than successfully
completed a series of milestone testing operations that move it closer to
its final destination - space.
The 32,000-pound scientific research lab was the first
International Space Station (ISS) pressurized element to spend seven days
in a renovated vacuum chamber last used when Americans walked on the moon.
The 28-foot-long, 14-foot wide laboratory was placed in the chamber July 1
to undergo the element leak test.
"Completing this test was a large step in meeting the lab's
'Destiny'; launch early next year. Its performance exceeded expectations,
boosting our confidence in on-orbit performance. I'm very happy for the
lab team," said Tip Talone, director of International Space Station and
Payload Processing at KSC.
NASA and Boeing employees coordinated the operation.
"Testing the laboratory in the vacuum chamber has provided us with
the information we need to ensure Destiny is leak free and safe for
the astronauts to inhabit while working at the International Space
Station," said John Elbon, Boeing director of ISS ground operations at
Kennedy Space Center.
To perform the test, the laboratory was placed on the rotation and
handling fixture inside the Operations & Checkout (O&C) Building high bay,
raised to vertical, lifted and moved to a point above the chamber, then
lowered inside. Once the lid was lowered and secured, the chamber created
a vacuum environment equivalent to 257,000 feet altitude or 48 miles to
determine if the module had any leaks and confirm the rates at which gases
were consumed.
The three-story, stainless steel chamber is one of two built
by NASA in 1964 to test the Apollo program flight hardware. The
33-foot-wide by 50-foot-tall chambers were used to simulate a low-Earth
orbit environment for the command and lunar modules. Both chambers were
deactivated in 1975 when the Apollo-Soyuz project ended.
In 1998, NASA selected the Boeing payload ground operations
contract team to renovate one of the two chambers to leak test pressurized
elements of the Space Station. The team, which included NASA and Dynacs
Engineering Co., provided designs for the new vacuum chamber pumping
equipment and controls, a new control room and a new rotation and handling
fixture.
The U.S. Laboratory as been designed to provide world-class,
state-of-the art facilities to complete scientific research in zero
gravity. There is space for 24 racks inside the module - 13 will be
dedicated to scientific research and 11 will provide cooling water, power
and temperature and humidity control, as well revitalization to remove
carbon dioxide and replenish oxygen. During the early assembly missions,
astronauts will manipulate the Canadian robotic arm from within the lab
using an integrated video system that will receive live pictures from
cameras positioned on the arm and on the Station's structure.
Destiny is among more than 216,000 pounds of Space Station
elements, including truss sections that are being prepared for flight at
Kennedy Space Center. The lab is scheduled to be launched on Shuttle
mission STS 98, the 5A assembly mission, targeted for Jan. 18, 2001. When
fully assembled in 2004, the Space Station will house a crew of seven -who
will be able to work in 46,000 cubic feet of pressurized volume spread
across six laboratories, two habitation modules, and two logistics
modules.
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